Identify steering arm?
 

When I replaced '36 steering box with a '40 unit I thought steering arm was also '40 but noticed number on arm is 78-3590, GREEN BOOK doesn't show that number.
What year arm would this be?

Re: Identify steering arm?
 

78 Part prefix seems to be 1937.

Re: Identify steering arm?
 

The spindles and brakes on my Model A were taken from a '40 Ford. These are the typical roundback spindles common to '37-'41 cars and mine have a raised "78" next to a "P" inside of a circle.

Re: Identify steering arm?
 

i believe the same part was used from '37 to'40.

Re: Identify steering arm?
 

As several have indicated above, that is a 1940 arm. In a nutshell that "78" indicates 1937 as the first year that part was used. The "3590" indicates a Pitman arm. Once you learn Ford's numbering system, ID'ing parts becomes a bunch easier. DD

Re: Identify steering arm?
 

The 1937 parts book shows 78-3590 for a 1937.


Bob

Re: Identify steering arm?
 

Just like the "78" transmission case, it was first used in 1937 but pickups used it till 1950 with minor changes

Re: Identify steering arm?
 

I have a '40 steering gear box in my '36. When I installed the '40 box in 1954-55 I used the '36 pitman arm, it hung down to low so I switched to a '40 arm. The part number on the arm in my car is 21-A3590-3 015. The arm fit was higher within the chassis without bending it. The front axle under my car is a '41 dropped 2".

Re: Identify steering arm?
 

Thank you for the help.
Bob

Re: Identify steering arm?
 

An arm marked "21-A3590-3 015" is NOT going to be a 1940 arm. "21-A..." denotes a 1942 "first year of use" part. DD

Re: Identify steering arm?
 

Thank you for the information on my pitman.. I had been told in the past that a 21-A arm was a '40, I took the arm off of a friends '40 coupe parts car.

Re: Identify steering arm?
 

Beginning in 1932 Ford stopped the practice of assigning new part numbers when a part was used for following years without change (a very good practice). In 1932 the Model A parts that were reused without change actually were assigned a new part number, can you think of a more wasteful practice? The "78" prefix was assigned to parts that were first used in 1937 and would remain until the part was revised such that it could no longer be used.

Charlie Stephens